Comments: 1-15, 16-21
The coolant tank has a leak that comes up every so often. The battery goes out periodically and this damn thing drinks oil like no other. The dealer and my regular mechanic charge me an arm and a leg to fix this stupid car.
For some people, the BMW driving experience is a wonderful engagement with the road and speed. It is a moment during which you feel at one with the car and the road. For me, it is a terrible time with terrible power steering, a sticky accelerator, transmission which never shifts properly, bumpy rides, and gas guzzling.
The handling isn't all that great in comparison to what I've had with a Saab. But of course, different strokes for different folks. I just do not get into BMWs and I don't give a damn how much it cost, I think this car was a waste of money and isn't worth buying again.
Indeed, it is possible that I am the only one who feels this car is hideous, gas-guzzling (oh how efficient at 15 MPG... yeah right), and outright expensive to own. I'm a mere college student and here I am with this damn car that breaks down pretty regularly. The god damn engine had to be rebored after the coolant leaked out and the oil hoses sprung a leak during a highway drive. A nice explosion occurred. Wonderful. I am starving myself for the sake of upkeeping this damned car that I didn't want in the first place.
What I wanted was a Saab 900 or a good old Volvo, both of which are economical and cheap to run. Not this German disaster which drives like a bloody tank and just sucks all my cash. My dad always told me that I should like this car as much as he did and now I wish he had just kept this stupid thing and let me get my own set of wheels. No college student who is lacking in daily cash should be driving a modern German car. A 1986 190E? Fine, it's probably better than this garbage. Anyone who wants this car can take it from me, I hate it with a fiery passion.
You are probably the first person in the world to have a BMW with a V6 engine.
Usually BMW's have inline 6's.
I advise you to sell this car and get an older Volvo like 740, 940 or maybe 850, because SAABs are very rarely cheap to own, believe me. If you want to keep this BMW, read below.
Get another mechanic and an electrician, this BMW model does have its own problems, but nothing a capable persoun could not fix.
This motor should not drink a lot of oil, I know some cars with the same engine and they`ve done way over 300 thousand miles with minimal oil consumption.
Try using a different brand and a higher viscosity index of oil to fix oil consumption, Esso is great for BMW, but I don`t know if it is available outside Europe.
I'll take it off your hands... I'll even be kind enough to pick it up from you free of charge. =)
What you ought to do is 1. Replace the gaskets and seals within the coolant system (there's only a couple), 2. Find where in the engine the oil is leaking if there are no oil spills where ever you park, and 3. Be easier on the throttle. I'm a college student as well and I can make my 1990 Accord (EPA 19/26) get 32 mpg, or 18 mpg depending on how hard I mash the gas pedal. Also, dealers will often cause more problems than what they fix while raping your wallet at the same time. Try to find a local European repair shop and/or do some of the simple stuff yourself. No need to be charged $300 or so to replace brake pads.
P.S. Reason why an Accord owner is here is because I'm buying a '97 328i.
While I am the first to advocate buying a car that you really like I have to point out that saab and volvo are pretty much the same as bmw in that they will go for well over 300k with proper maintenance and will fall to pieces without it. Saabs in particular are notorious for the their constant need for upkeep, yet if you like saabs then maybe you'll pay close attention to what it needs.
I'm not quite sure what you mean in your description of the coolant leak, but it sounds like the head gasket blew and you lost coolant and oil at the same time. Honestly it sounds more like you got shafted by an incompetent mechanic who did a shoddy rebuild.
I have a 1998 328i. I get b/w 28-30 mpg on the highway, and about 25-26 in town. My 328 has over 200k on it. What in the hell have you done to your car? People like you upset me. You take a nice BMW, run it into the ground with shoddy maintanence, and scream about how much of a waste it was when some theiving mechanic takes you for all you have b/c you don't know anything about it in the first place. MY car does not use oil, and NO I do not leak fluid. I have had a few issues here in there in the last 120k. I got the car with 80k from my dad as well. But the car has never stranded me anywhere. And it is a HELL of a lot easier to work on than a FWD Saab. But of course you wouldn't know that. I doubt you even know how to open a hood. Oh BTW I am a poor college student too. And I do most of the work on my car... but of course it really dosnt need much since I maintain the thing on a regular basis, something you have to do with ANY car.
This review made me, another broke-ass college student, a little angry. This guy is a freak! My parents helped me buy a 1994 318i with 125,000 miles on it and I am grateful for it being in my life every day. This car came to me at a time when I seriously needed better wheels and I have not been disappointed. I have only had to do regular maintenance and here I am, 3.5 years later, at 170,000 miles with no smoking, no oil usage/leakage, no coolant leaks, and everything on the car functions EXACTLY like it did when new.
People like this give BMWs the undeserved reputation for being "expensive to maintain" and "problematic" because they never fix anything until it all blows to hell, and then they like to say that it is the car's fault. If you stay on top of things, the car will treat you well. This is true for any car, not just BMW.
I agree with the two previous statements. There are some people out there who think that all you have to do with a car is add gas, (usually the rich) and then once something goes wrong with it they either trade it in for a newer car and do the same thing or sell it private party. The money savvy fix it themselves and usually have a car that last pretty much as long as they want it too. It gives good cars a bad rep, and can discourage some people from buying a certain car. That's why they call it preventative maintenance, it prevents the car from going bad on you. I mean it is a machine that you trust your life to, you are supposed to take good care of it... I mean wow.
Amen.
I agree 100% with the last 3 comments... ANY car will go bad on you if you don't take proper care of it, new or used. I do not have a 328, but am planning to get a '98 328i in a few weeks. I have seen many of the "bad" and "expensive and crappy" reviews of this car, but I am more overwhelmed by the "best buy ever" and "get it when you can" type of reviews from owners who actually do their own work or take it in to a certified bimmer mechanic or a bimmer dealer for repairs on a regular and required basis. Anyone who knows squat about cars knows general maintenance and upkeep on a car is a must and would most likely not have had the above listed problems, so if anything it is your fault that the car has failed on you. And if you didn't notice, Volvo and Saab are both European cars--so is a BMW--and chances are, the way you're going about things, those will be just as expensive to fix. My advice would be to walk or ride a bicycle. I don't perform any maintenance on my bicycle and it's 8 years old and hasn't failed me yet. But good luck in the future, and don't forget that all important "preventative maintenance", you know, so you can PREVENT failures and break-downs. Peace! :)
Going from Jag coupe to BMW (talk about trouble!) and now original owner of a 1998 model BMW coupe and find the only flukey necessity is to remove the key before loading gas so the gauge works properly; this, from the first day when filled up by the dealer. Other than that, scheduled regular BMW service for the first 100,000 miles and no problems. Recently had a great Toronto body man clean up dents and scratches and repaint. Looks like new, handles neatly, no leaks, averaging 27 mpg on highway. Wouldn't trade it.
For starters it's a STRAIGHT 6! Not a V6. Listen to the twin vanos open as you accelerate. Far more superior than any v6!
Also if you think this is a piece of junk, clearly you're no petrol head and obviously bought a bad 328.
I've had a 98 328 mtech coupe, and it never once had anything wrong; not even a light bulb go. It was built solid unless abusively used.
How ever I recommend you get a bus pass, what can go wrong with that?
It really sounds like this guy has had a shoddy mechanic for his BMW. I'd want to know the service records though to be sure. I'm sure you also know this is actually an inline six, not a v configuration.
And please, let's not insult the kid or make societal conclusions, that's not what this site is about. We don't know the full story of the car, just this rant from someone who's honestly had enough.
I got my 328i about a month ago. Let me tell you there were problems, but I stuck my hand in there and she's as pretty as she can be. Fixed my brakes, fixed my air intake, got the leather back to black. I completely did it myself, never owning one prior. You just need not to be scared and follow instructions, and you'll be good.
If you are from Canada, I don`t mind trading my 99 integra. It has less problems, less headaches, cheap to fix and does not drink a lot a gaz!